4 Letter Word
by The Cliffhanger Girl
Summary: Clare finds her parents divorce papers, which shatter her heart to pieces. Who will she call to help her pick up the pieces? What do you know, the boy who always put the pieces back together without effort, Eli.


Hey guys! So, I think a lot of us Eclare shippers need something to keep the faith going...something to keep the Eclare love flowing! Hope this works! Please enjoy this one-shot that I like to call "4 Letter Word"...

**A Special Thanks To My Beta Reader**-SomeoneNamedLiz

**Warnings:** ECLARE ;)

Thank you to-Edwin McCain for the song "I'll Be" that inspired me to write this.

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><p><strong><span>4 LETTER WORD<span>**

_**Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it, everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, never… never forget it.**_

**CLARE'S PERSPECTIVE**

"He cheated on her?" I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheeks as I glanced at the divorce papers in my hands.

I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together as I put the papers back on the table, right where I found them. I pulled out my kitchen table chair, took a seat and then glared down at the first paper in the whole stack.

The first time I read it, I thought that my eyes had deceived me.

_**To my dismay, they didn't.**_

After Jake left, I stood by my door with my head leaning on it, holding up all my weight. At moments, I thought my legs were going to collapse on me because of the way my knees would buck when the divorce papers had struck my mind.

"I can't believe it," I whispered to myself as my own voice had echoed through my empty house.

Every time I think about how Jake didn't even stay or try to fight me to stay in my house to comfort me over the divorce papers, I shuddered. The goose bumps that rose over my spine had only told me that Jake wasn't going to care for me like Eli did or love me like Eli does-did.

Yes, to answer your question, I am physically attracted to Jake...but, he'll never be the guy who will hold onto me when I'm at my darkest hour. He won't be that guy that I need right now.

_**I've learned my lesson more than once in my life that, no matter what I do, I can't change a person.**_

It kills me inside to know that, if that was Eli was at my door and he saw the divorce papers in my hands; he would break down the door if he had to, to get to me. It makes my heart feel like thousands of bricks are on top of it every time I think 'Eli would have done this' or 'Eli would have done that'.

_**All Eli wanted to do was comfort me...all he wanted to do was make me happy.**_

"I'm so stupid," I whispered as tears mixed between my chapped lips and I continued to glare at the papers before me.

If Eli was ever the guy he claimed he was, if what Eli told me over and over again had come from his heart, then I can't help but think that our break up was my fault. Now that I think about it, I need him.

I nodded and whispered agreeing, "I need him."

Eli might be this emotionally distraught teenage boy, but, hell at times I'm an emotionally distraught teenage girl.

I have a father who claimed to love my mother until the end and only my mother. But, look at him now; look at what he did to mother. He kept saying 'I love you' and 'I love you' over and over again until my mother finally realized that he was feeding her lies.

Jake, how to describe him, at some times...breath taking.

He's the guy that you go to when you need a good laugh, a quick make out session and a good dinner. But, he's not the guy that I can call in the middle of the night when I have a nightmare or when I read my parents' divorce papers by accident.

But, I know the exact person who is that person.

**Eli.**

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when my phone began to vibrate on my couch. I slowly backed away from the kitchen table, leaving the papers on it while picking up my phone after wiping the tears from my eyes.

_"Clare,_

_I know how hard it is to going through your parents' divorce and I know what you're going through. Sometimes I wish that I had you when I was going through my parents' divorce. I know you would have cheered me up, so, what I am asking is do you want me to come over again and cheer you up? ;)_

_-Jake"_

If this was a different time and a different place I probably would have responded, "Hell yeah!" But, right now, I don't need someone to show me a good time...I need a shoulder to cry on.

I don't need someone to cheer me up or make me smile; I just need someone to listen to me.

"Eli," I whispered his name out loud while scrolling through the contacts in my phone book and for a good hour, I just stood in my living room while glaring at his number with my thumb pressed lightly over the 'call' button...

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><p><strong>ELI'S PERSPECTIVE<strong>

I glanced at the picture of Clare and I over my closet.

Sometimes, at night, I would do this for hours and right after our break up, that's all I did do. If I stare at Clare's face then sometimes I feel as if she is in my room, standing beside me with that intoxicating smile on her face.

"Clare," I whispered her name out loud while tracing the outline of the picture frame as I picked it up.

When my tears hit the picture, I brought the picture of us to my chest and embraced it tightly. The sick part of this routine I have, is, I feel her arms around me when I do this.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I heard my phone ringing in my pocket, for the first time, in two months. No one called me anymore because Adam had gotten his own radio show with Dave, Imogen, who knows if that girl even has a phone and well...everyone else has given up on me.

I glanced down at the name on the caller I.D. and I had to inch the phone closer to my face, to make sure if my eyes were deceiving me.

"Clare?" I asked myself, wondering if this was really her.

With a shaky hand, I lifted my cell phone open and I slowly pulled it up to my ear while licking my chapped lips before saying, "Hello."

I heard Clare breathe out, as if my voice had given her a sigh of relief as she spoke my name, "Eli."

My ears did not trick me when I heard a sniffle on her side of the phone and I nearly broke the phone in my right hand, knowing that if Jake had tried to pull anything on Clare to make her upset then I would destroy him in an instant.

"A-are you okay?" I asked her as I just heard her take a deep breath.

I heard her sigh once again and she said, "You know how...w-we broke up and I-I told you that I couldn't do it anymore? Well, I know that we aren't together, but I was just wondering if you could just be my friend right now."

Between each word she spoke, I heard a heaving sob.

"I-I can be your friend," I stuttered over the phone line.

I could see her smile through shedding tears as she said, "Great Eli, um, can I come over?"

"No, don't leave your house. It's torrential rain outside and I heard it's only going to get worse, so, just stay put. I'll be over soon," I told her as I felt the comfortable silence embrace our conversation.

Before I could hang up, I heard Clare say, "Hurry."

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><p><strong>CLARE'S PERSPECTIVE<strong>

I sat on my steps, petrified of the person who was going to walk through my door next.

_**My mother was out all day; she hasn't even called once to check in on me.**_

It's funny how I feel that this divorce is affecting me more than it is affecting my parents. They seem to be relieved, happy and care free now that this is the last step in order to be officially out of each other's lives.

My puffy eyes had glared up at my front door as it swung open, lightening striking in the background as the dark figure had appeared soaking wet from the rain. I didn't jolt back like I normally would, or move back in order to avoid the rain that was hitting my body.

"Clare," he whispered my name but all I could do was stay still and stare up at him.

I watched as he walked in, closing the door behind him as I saw him standing in front of me. His chest was heaving up and down, probably due to that fact that he had to run here from his house that happened to be twenty blocks away from mine.

He glanced around, trying to see what made me call him over or what made me invite him over.

When his head had finally turned towards the kitchen to see the divorce papers, all he did was grab my limp hands and pull me up on my weak legs. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, embraced me with safety while whispering in my ear, "I'm glad you called."

"I'm glad you answered," I whispered in his ear while wrapping my arms around his neck as my tears dripped onto his jacket.

The rain and my tears had mixed into his clothing, marking the time and memory that I had called him over to borrow his shoulder. I couldn't hold back my tears, it would just be impossible to try at this point.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered lowly in his ear.

He didn't move, just stood his firm ground with his strong and loving arms wrapped around my waist. I held onto him tighter when I felt him loosen his grip on me and my sobs had come quicker every time he moved his head from my shoulder.

"For what?" He asked, moments later.

I shook my head, pulling away from his shoulder so that my words wouldn't be muffled as I spoke lowly, "I'm sorry for everything. I-I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me to be, I'm sorry that I broke your heart and I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I'm sorry for even calling you tonight."

I disconnected my arms from his body as Eli grabbed my hand within an instant and asked, "Are you just saying that because of the papers?"

My lips curled into a tiny smile as I said, "I'm saying it because it's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Eli glared at me with confusion clouding his eyes as I whispered, "You're the only person I have...or well, had that I know I could depend on when I needed someone to cry on. Jake isn't right for me, Eli and Alli is too wrapped up with school and Adam, well Adam isn't the first person I'd run to at times considering he'd just make me laugh."

He shook his head in disbelief and dropped my hand while saying, "I might not be your boyfriend Clare, but that doesn't mean if you called me in the middle of the night to tell me that you had a nightmare about the boogie monster that I wouldn't come running over to your house."

I laughed a little and rubbed my cheeks while saying, "I'm sorry I wasted your time, I'm just so pathetic."

Eli took a sharp breath and tossed his bangs to one side while inching closer to me, placing his cold hand on my neck, forcing me to stare into his piercing green eyes as he whispered, "Don't ever say that about yourself Clare Edwards."

"It's true Eli, I'm a mess," I whispered while sniffling and he laughed.

"If you're a mess, then I must be the size of a garbage dump," he told me as his eyes softened and a tiny laugh escaped my lips through a shaky breath from the goose bumps rising on my face.

A blush spread across my cheeks when Eli gripped one side of my neck tighter to make me look up into his eyes once again. I moved my hand to his neck and my hand mixed with the rain on it as he asked, "If we try this again...can we promise to do it differently?"

My throat grew dry, now dry as a desert when I whispered, "Please."

He nodded and said, "No one ever said that life is going to be easy Clare. We're going to have to survive through your parents' divorce together, Julia's anniversary, my hoarding and-."

I cut him off by crushing our lips together, becoming one once again.

Our lips moved in rhythm, our tears clashing with passion and our throats producing moans that I never even thought was possible. His hands roamed my neck and when we pulled away from our kiss, his lips locked with my neck.

I whimpered when I felt Eli twist the sensitive skin and I nearly lost it when I felt his tongue swirl comforting circles over the small bite that he had created. I gripped onto Eli's soaking wet jacket, feeling the wetness absorb my hand as I whispered, "Promise me you'll never leave me."

His lips curled into a grin as he retorted, "Promise me you'll never leave me."

We both nodded as I gripped the back of his head lightly, pulling at the black strands behind his head as we both spoke at the same time, "I promise."

I sighed in relief when I wrapped my arms around the person that will forever and always continue to be there for me. A smile formed on my lips as I felt him ease into the hug, loving the feeling of us being together once again and he said in my ear, "I'll always be here for you Clare, always."

_**For a couple of minutes, I forgot about the divorce papers had started my emotional breakdown. **_

Eli followed me as I took a seat at my kitchen table for the second time tonight, except, I wasn't alone. He stood behind me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder while glancing down at the papers.

"I know this might sound sappy but, here's my love, take it. Here's my soul, use it. Here's my heart, don't break it. Here's my hand, hold it and together we will make it forever."

My cheeks felt as if they were set on fire as he whispered a loving quote in my ear, which resulted in my hand being gripped tightly.

"I love you Eli," I whispered while glancing up over my shoulder to see him, glaring down at me and then lowering down to my eye level to stare into my eyes. He knew that when he did this it would make my stomach flip with excitement.

After a couple of seconds, Eli got antagonizingly close to my lips as he whispered, his breath hitting my face, "I love you, Clare Edwards."

I didn't need to second guess this statement; I didn't need to think negatively upon it. Hell, I didn't even need to think about it because, when Eli spoke from the heart, I knew that every word that escaped his mouth since he stepped inside my house...was true.

**END**

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><p><em><strong>So, reviews? Please?<strong>_

**_Let me know if you want more one-shots like this! :D _**

Love you guys,

Cliffhanger Girl

3


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